Entering Eternities
by Nervemaster
Summary: Time has always been such an evasive entity, always within our reach but forever out of our hands. What would you do if you somehow managed to grasp it, control it? Naruto knows, and he is sure to go through with it, sacrificing none of his goals in order to obtain that which he could not, however, who or what is going to be caught in the crossfire, between fate and change?
1. Misanthrope in the making

I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters in it.

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He felt the familiar thrill of metal cutting flesh. Of hearing the sound of blood quickly seeping out of the slit throat, of seeing the fearful faces of his victims. Watching them slowly die, as their screams were muffled by his hand. He wasn't sure whether or not he had actually come to enjoy the experience, however it didn't leave a sour taste in his mouth afterward, at least not like it had done in the beginning.

But it was too late to worry about his humanity. Everything had to be done perfectly, everything had to be done in order to succeed. Always the mission before the self, though in this situation, the self had imposed the mission, so wanting something would be the same of receiving a mission to fulfill that want.

Most people would look at him with disgust in their eyes if they saw what he had just done... call him despicable, call him insane. But it was nothing new. However this time around, they had a reason to do so. Not like before. That of course had changed as soon as they had been saved by him. At first he had been happy. He had finally managed to achieve that which he had been struggling to attain for years on end.

But after the war had ended, and he got a chance to look around, he saw how nothing had changed. Their opinion of him had changed sure, but he, himself hadn't changed. It had taken him quite a while before he could accurately describe the situation, but the instant he found the answer, he was filled with an immense disgust, as well as hatred.

They came to love the person they hated, only because they finally had opened their eyes. Of course that all sounds good and all, at least that was how he thought in the beginning and that was how all others perceived it as well.

But that changed, along with everything else. That was the moment where his new mission and goal had erupted before him. He had to change, not only himself, but the entire world. The issue was, to them, he was unreasonable, claiming ignorance as if that was a saving grace. The system wouldn't change either, as it was bound by traditions and greedy people without power.

The very notion of power disgusted him. It was nothing more than an excuse for the weak to justify their loss to the strong, and for the strong, it was a tool to reign over the weak.

He had tried to change it, but new concepts were more often shunned, rather than implemented. Even with a potentially limitless amount of power, he was still rendered unable to change anything, as people were either scared of change, or scared of the mere prospect of being weaker, or the worst of them all, being scared of losing their arbitrary power over others.

It was another eye-opener. Before that point, his faith had still persisted, even through the worst of experiences. But it had been crushed, much later than it should have, though its life was prolonged by his old habit of forgiving and believing that people were inherently good and they were able to mold into something different.

How wrong he had been. Looking back at it now, he could do nothing but laugh at his own misguided judgment and surreal expectations. Presuming that his ideals and goals would be turned to reality just because he willed it to be so was nothing more than a foolish notion, spawned from his own delusional mind. But he was able to see clearly now, even though others would describe his vision as fogged or demented, insane even.

People always had a tendency to name anything out of the ordinary as insanity. The word in of itself was never inherently bad, though people came to use the term with negative connotations. The entire principle of insanity spawned from the lack of sense within ones own worlds context. If something lies beyond ones own sense of sane, it becomes insane, and so was he branded as both an exile, and outcast.

But to him, they were the insane ones. That was probably the reason for his self-imposed solitude in the first case. Probably also because they would hinder his progress with their ethics, morals and social standards that had to be upheld. He didn't have time for thoughtless considerations, nor did he care for any such things. They meant nothing in his reality.

It became quite apparent for him when he took the role as leader, one of his previous dreams. He found himself walking amidst a bad nightmare, rather than a good dream. He had quickly abandoned the position shortly after the realization. He wasn't sure why he had accepted the responsibility in the first place, nor was he sure why they would even consider having him as a tool of guidance.

It didn't matter anymore, but it was still a thought provoking question, one which he would himself musing over quite a bit. Maybe he was trying to hold onto a dream he had lost, along with some of the people that made him want to dream. He had figured it was a way of meeting them again, albeit their death was still very much reality.

Much like the second death of the person beneath his Kunai, though there were no hard feelings, mostly because it's hard to condemn someone if you're dead, and it's pretty hard to be angry with yourself if there is no reason to be.

He retracted the blade and wiped it off on the bed sheets, giving the otherwise black-cloth a thin layer of red. It was quite a gruesome scene, though somehow strangely peaceful as well. The blood slowly pouring out from the victims throat, forming a pool at the base of the neck. The whole scene bathing in the light of the crescent moon.

He had actually believed the act to be much harder than what it actually turned out to be. It was both a relief, although it was also a warning. Killing should never be easy, especially if the victim was close to oneself, albeit by proximity and not emotionally.

He could do nothing but shrug, as he stepped away from the bed, towards the open window and the curtains wavering in the wind. He took a final look back at his creation, and a smile emerged upon his lips.

Happiness was probably not the correct word to use, rather satisfaction or relief would be more befitting. He had wanted to do that for what felt like an eternity, but now he finally did it, and it was worth it, definitely.

He turned back towards the window and Shunshin'ed away, leaving behind his dead victim, and a steadily increasing pool of blood.

Naruto yawned as he slowly opened his eyes, the sharp morning light blinding him as he rose from his bed. Today was an important day. It was the beginning of something and the end of someone.

He shook his head. The mask was essential for success, something he had learned quite early in his relatively short life.

He looked around and was embraced by the familiar sight of the shabby apartment, the broken window, the rocks lying on the floor, the withering paint on the walls and the half-rotten wood beneath his feet. He walked to the closet and looked at the one suit that still remained. It would be the last time he ever wore that attire.

It wasn't like he didn't like the color, but it was just unprofessional, though most importantly, the very fabric of the cloth was woven by bad memories. He took it on anyway, despite the terrible feeling.

When he was done with his morning routine, he dispelled the Kage Bunshin he had placed in proximity to the Hokage Tower, namely the room in which the crystal orb, the bane of his current existence, resided. Data flooded into his head, though the only noteworthy thing was the fact that the Hokage was currently busy with paperwork, he was free to go about his business, without being revealed.

He quickly formed the Clone Seal and created a Kage Bunshin. It nodded at him and Henge'd itself into a random citizen, then setting off towards the previous clones location. He had half a mind to go and destroy the crystal ball, however as tempting as it might have been, it would definitely lead to suspicion of someone, and he would probably be high on that list, thanks to his previous record as a prankster.

Granted, the village would probably be sent into a state of turmoil come late-afternoon, however that wasn't important right now. What was important was to keep his mask, though for the sake of staying sane, avoiding the majority of... everyone would be the best method of approach.

His mask wasn't there to interact with others. His mask was there if he was caught, although in this case, a normal talk would be the same as being caught, however, thanks to the kind elders of the village, people normally tended to not talk to him, but yell at him.

However, there was always a chance that someone in the academy would be out of their minds and try to converse with him, however he had found that everything was exactly the same as before, the only real difference being him, so if he remembered correctly, he would try to talk to the Haruno, get rejected and then sit around dejected, whilst being ogled by the Hyūga.

He wasn't exactly sure why he stayed in the apartment for as long as he did. The prospect of pretending to be himself was somehow tiring. He shrugged as he set off with a Shunshin.

He shortly thereafter arrived in an empty alleyway near the academy. He ran the rest of the way, through the half-empty street that still somehow managed to radiate a large amount of hatred and disgust. He smiled. The familiar feeling of being hated soothed him in a strange way, in a way he could not describe.

He finally reached the academy, rushing past the Chūnin, whom was glaring daggers at him for merely existing. His smile widened.

He approached the door to the classroom. It was still open, though a quite recognizable figure was heading towards the door, most presumably to close it. Naruto quickly slipped into the room, sending a casual wave to Iruka, with a, now, stupid smile on his face, while scratching the back of his head.

Iruka sighed and nodded at him.

Naruto glanced over the seats, and found that a person missing, back-row in the middle. His face darkened for a brief second, as a rather wicked smile invaded his otherwise perfect mask. He cursed internally. It was a bad habit, one that could eventually lead to his own downfall if the wrong person was to see it at the wrong time.

He threw away the thought and headed towards the empty seat in the middle. The classroom was quite noisy, though it was predominantly male voices circulating the room, in contrast to the siren's of the Sasuke Fanclub. Most of them were quiet, though a few were debating which of them was more entitled to their idol's sweet embrace, namely Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, or as they would say, Forehead Girl and Ino-Pig.

The Haruno saw him glance in their direction and yelled, "What are you looking at, Naruto-baka?"

Words could not express the amount of anger, rage and hatred he felt towards that girl. Such a shame that her entire life would soon be shattered...

"Nothing, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled back with a dumb-founded expression. Sakura shook her head in what looked mostly like disgust and returned to her debate with Ino. His thoughts lingered with Ino as he sat down at the back-row.

How useful she had been in order to achieve the possibility of completing his mission. Not ust her, but the Yamanaka in general. It didn't really change the fact that he still detested most of them, though it was hard to deny their potential power and influence. Out of all the people in this room, she had been the third most useful person to him. The second was Iruka, for rather self-explanatory reasons, and the most important...

"Alright kids, this is the day where you have the opportunity to enter the ranks of the Genin and became a real ninja, however, in order to do that, you first have to pass the graduation examination, which this year will consist of doing the Bunshin no Jutsu. The examination will take place in the room next door, so when your name is called, head in there," said Iruka, heading towards the door.

"First examinee is Akimichi Chōji, if you would follow me."

The chubby kid stood up and waved at Inuzaka Kiba and Nara Shikamura, before heading off to follow Iruka. When the door closed, the noise level of the room increased exponentially, much to the annoyance of Naruto that was trying to just phase out until it was his turn.

After a minute or two he finally managed to zone out, but not before noting that he was seemingly one of the focus points of the class. He had found several people glancing in his general direction several times. He could only assume it was because he was sitting in Sasuke's usual spot.

It took around ten minutes before his name was called. He stood up and walked down the steps and headed towards the door. He didn't stop to look back.

He entered the other classroom. It was a fairly ordinary one, except for the complete lack of any desks except for the one in front of Iruka and Mizuki, the one with only a couple of Forehead Protectors left. Naruto walked into the middle of the room, standing in front of them both.

"Begin whenever you're ready," said Iruka with a somewhat strained smile. From what he knew, Naruto was utterly terrible at Bunshin, so there was only one way this could go...

And sure enough, when Naruto made the clone seal and yelled, "Bunshin no Jutsu!" a rather powerful wave emerged from Naruto, though all he managed to produce was a rather disgruntled looking Bunshin.

Iruka could do nothing but facepalm, as he saw Naruto look back at his creation and flinch.

"You failed," said Iruka, watching how Naruto's face darkened slightly, which puzzled him, as it seemed like a very uncharacteristic thing for him to do. He shrugged it off.

"Iruka-sensei... this is his third time and he did technically create a clone, so we could just let him pass..." said Mizuki, something which Iruka also found very uncharacteristic. He had always believed Mizuki to detest Naruto... though today was a day of change it seemed.

"We can't do that Mizuki-sensei, everyone else managed to divide into three, but he only made one, and it was utterly useless. I can't let him pass," Iruka explained, looking back at Naruto, though he was gone.

Whilst he had focused attention towards Mizuki, Naruto had sneaked out of the room. It hurt Iruka to do it, but he had to. He knew he was right in his decision, but that didn't make it any better.

Outside of the door, Naruto was grinning again, though the grin quickly disappeared into a frown, as his mask quickly regenerated itself, as he headed towards one of his favorite places. On his way out, he walked past the classroom and noticed the head of one Hyūga Hinata poke out, looking in his direction. He didn't care, much like the first time around, although for different reasons this time around.

Minutes later he found himself sitting on a familiar swing under the shade of the tree it was attached to. He was looking at the many happy faces and families gathered in front of the academy, congratulating their children for passing the exam. Could hear the conversations of the parents, many of them glancing towards him with disgust on their faces.

Those quickly managed to disappear as they spotted the Hokage standing in the middle of the crowd, standing next to Iruka, the both of them looking towards Naruto.

The only one that Naruto cared to take notice of was Mizuki, who was standing near the gate of the courtyard in front of the academy, casually looking at the crowd, but also repeatedly finding his eyes drawn towards Naruto. This was the thing Naruto had been waiting for. He then jumped off of the swing and made his way to the gate, glancing at Mizuki as he walked past him.

Mere minutes later, he found himself on a desolate street, the only there being himself and Mizuki standing right behind him.

"Naruto..."

He turned around quickly and faked the surprise that would've been there before... "Mizuki-sensei?!"

"I figured you wanted to talk... if you want, of course?" said Mizuki, smiling quite innocently. You had to give the man credit, he was pretty good at maintaining his mask.

"I'd... like that," mumbled Naruto, a sad smile making its way across his lips.

A couple of minutes later, they found themselves sitting on a rooftop of a house, looking out over the city.

"Iruka-sensei is a serious person Naruto... his parents were killed when he was young and he had to do everything himself..."

"But why does he only pick on me then?!"

"It's probably because he sees himself in you... he wants you to become strong the way he could not... the real way," said Mizuki, looking out over the city with a smile on his face. "You should try to understand Iruka-sensei's feelings... since you also have no parents..."

"But... I still wish I had graduated..."

"Well then..."

It was here. After the tiring conversation of masks, it was finally here. What he had been waiting for the whole day.

"Huh?"

"I'll tell you a special secret..."

Naruto was lurking outside the Sandaime's home at night. Originally he had planned to sneak in unnoticed, however if he was to do that, the possibility of them finding out the scrolls were missing was miniscule at best, so the best option was to degrade himself, using the Oiroke no Jutsu on Sarutobi to knock him out, much like the first time around...

What had to be done, had to be done. With that pretense, he headed into the home, waiting to be spotted by Sarutobi before heading towards the scrolls.

"What are you doing in my house at this hour?"

"Oiroke no Jutsu!"

"Wha-..."

After quickly finding the Fūin no Sho, Naruto made his way out of the house, heading towards the forest, more specifically the place where Mizuki had told him to go.

He looked over the multitudes of Kinjutsu, more specifically the Kage Bunshin. He already knew most of the scrolls inside and out, however it was still quite nostalgic looking over the old scroll again.

He leaned back and sighed. Waiting had never been his strong point, no matter how much he tried to convince himself that he was a master of patience.

After thirty minutes, he saw Iruka rush into the little clearing in the forest with a strained expression on his face. He looked down, letting Iruka creep up on him, just like back then.

"I've found you... Hey!" Iruka almost yelled at his deviant of a student.

"Oh! I found the nose bleeder!"

"Idiot! I found you!" Iruka yelled back.

He exhaled sharply, though mild confusion was present when he saw how Naruto was doing his usual, scratch his neck whilst smiling routine... He didn't understand what exactly had let Naruto to steal the scroll, but he sure as hell didn't seem to be aware of the gravity of the situation.

Naruto chuckled slightly, before saying, "You found me... I've only learned one skill so far..."

"Hey, what were you doing out here? You're all beat up."

"Never mind that... Hey, I'm going to try an incredible skill... if I do it, let me graduate, please?!" said Naruto in a very desperate tone. It saddened Iruka slightly, but still confused him greatly. He was primarily confused about why exactly he had taken the scroll, however another thing was the fact that Naruto had probably trained enough to hurt himself, but he was training Kinjutsu, which by any stretch of the imagination should be far beyond the capabilities of the dead-last in Konoha's academy.

"Naruto..?"

He looked up at his teacher and made an indistinguishable noise, much akin to a what, just without words.

"Where exactly did you get that scroll on your back?"

"Oh, this? Mizuki-sensei told me about it. He also told me about this place. He told me that if I showed you this skill, you would definitely let me graduate!"

"Mizu-..." Iruka was interrupted as he noticed a swarm of Kunai heading directly towards them. He quickly pushed Naruto out of the way, though it was too late for him to dodge them, so he braced himself.

Naruto felt a bit of guilt wash over him as he saw his previous teacher be impaled with several Kunai, Kunai that he easily could have avoided if he wanted to, but there was nothing to do about it.

He knew the Hokage was watching because the clone he had sent in the morning had just dispelled, so he had to be extremely careful about his actions during this encounter. It was quite possibly the most crucial part of the whole plan, so he had to play it perfectly.

"Good job finding him," said Mizuki, sitting on top of a branch with two massive Shuriken strapped onto his back.

"I see... so that's what's going on," said Iruka, whilst pulling out some of the Kunai that was lodged in his skin. It was a rather painful procedure.

"Naruto, give me the scroll."

"H-hey... what's doing on?!"

"Naruto, don't give him the scrolls under any circumstance!" Iruka yelled. "It's a dangerous scroll with forbidden Ninjutsu sealed in it! Mizuki used you in order to get his hands on it!"

"Naruto... there's no point in you having the scroll... I'll tell you the truth," said Mizuki with a wicked grin.

"N-no! Don't!" Iruka shouted, though it was to no avail.

"You know about the demon being sealed, right? Twelve years ago... since that incident, there was a new law in the village."

"A... law?"

"Yes, a law. But that law was never supposed to be mentioned to you."

"W-what..? What is this law? Why?!" Naruto asked frantically, faking his own confusion and desperation quite handily.

Mizuki looked at him, slowly starting to cackle manically.

"What... kind of law is it?"

"It's a law that states that no one is to tell you, that you are in fact the Kyūbi, the Demon Fox."

There was a few seconds of silence. The leaves slowly wavering in the wind, Iruka panting lowly and Naruto's heavy breathing.

Naruto broke the silence, shouting, "What.. do you mean?!"

"Stop it!" shouted Iruka desperately, but again failed as Mizuki continued.

"It means that you are the nine tailed demon, the one that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village! You were sealed up by the Hokage and-,"

"STOP IT!"

"You have been lied to by everyone. Didn't you find it odd how everyone hated you? Iruka's the same. He actually hates you, just beneath the surface!" Mizuki shouted, as he began spinning one of his giant Shuriken's. "Nobody will ever accept you!" he yelled, throwing the Shuriken. "That scroll was used to seal you up!"

Just as Mizuki finished speaking, the Shuriken slammed right into a target, though not the right one. Iruka had used himself to stop the Shuriken from hitting Naruto... Iruka screamed out in pain... Naruto looked at him with frightened eyes.

"Why..?"

"My... when my parents died... I was all alone... there wasn't anyone there to accept me... I would always act like an idiot to get attention, since I wasn't able to do good in school, or get it at home... It was better than nothing, so I continued that way... But in my loneliness... it was so painful," Iruka all but whispered as his eyes teared up, slowly dripping down unto Naruto.

"You must have been in a lot of pain too... If I had done my job better, you wouldn't have had to feel like this... I'm sorry.."

As far as he recalled, it was time for him to run now... He wasn't sure why he ran the first time around, but with the Hokage watching, everything had to fit. All of it. If he was lucky, maybe some ANBU would show up before he would have to do anything, but given what happened the last time, that was somehow very unlikely.

So he ran. He ran for a minute before settling down behind a tree, after hearing Iruka and Mizuki in their Henge'd forms right behind him. He heard Mizuki slam down into the ground and how Iruka leaned up against the tree trunk.

"How did you know I wasn't Iruka?"

The Henge'd Naruto chuckled slightly, before dispelling, revealing Iruka leaning against the tree. "I'm Iruka."

"I see..." said Mizuki, standing up. "It's quite ironic... You'd Henge into the monster that killed your parents in order to protect him?"

"It's simple. I won't hand the scroll over to a traitor like you!"

"You're an idiot. Whether Naruto or I have the scroll means little, as we are the same."

"The same?"

"If you use the power of that scroll, you can do anything you want. Do you really believe that the demon fox would let such an opportunity go to waste?"

"Yeah... the demon fox would probably do that. But not Naruto... I've acknowledged him as one of my excellent students... He may not be the hardest worker, he's quite clumsy and pranks, so no one ever accepts him... He already knows how it is to feel pain in his heart. He isn't the demon fox anymore. He is a member of Konohagakure... He's Uzumaki Naruto!"

Another moment of silence erupted. Mizuki was glaring at Iruka.

"Fine... whatever. I told you that I would take care of you later, but I changed my mind. Hurry up and DIE!" Mizuki shouted, charging forward, his second giant Shuriken spinning in his hand, but just as he was about to throw it, a figure emerged from the bushes and slammed his knee straight into Mizuki's jaw, sending him flying backwards.

Mizuki pulled himself off of the ground, muttering, "You should not have done that..." in a very ominous fashion.

"Don't you dare touch Iruka-sensei. I'll kill you," Naruto stated in a very calm tone.

"You idiot, why did you come out!? Run away!" Iruka shouted.

"Shut up! I'll kill a punk like you in one shot!" Mizuki roared at Naruto.

"Go ahead and try it, trash. I'll return the pain a thousand times!"

"Then do it, demon fox!"

"Fine," Naruto muttered, before making the clone seal and shouting, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

What happened next was something that made Iruka question whether or not he was actually awake, as all of the immediate area around the three of them had been filled with Naruto's. A lot of Naruto's.

Mizuki was just as bewildered as Iruka, however luckily for Iruka, he wasn't on the receiving end of what was to come.

"Wha-... What's going on?!" Mizuki shouted, looking around in disbelief.

'If he only knew...' Naruto thought to himself with a grin on his face. "What's wrong? Weren't you going to kill me in one shot? No? Well then, let me start things off!"

What happened next was nothing short of complete and utter destruction, within the limits of what should be possible for a person with half of the Kyūbi's chakra and the skills of a infant could do.

Five minutes later, Mizuki was unconscious, beaten to a pulp. 'Ibiki's going to have some fun with this one,' Naruto thought, stuffing a bloodied Kunai down into Mizuki's pocket without Iruka seeing it.

"Naruto, come over here, there's something I want to give you."

Naruto nodded and walked over to him.

"Close your eyes," said Iruka.

"Huh? Why?"

"Just do it."

Naruto nodded in submission, and closed his eyes.

"Can I open them now, sensei?"

"Yeah."

When he opened his eyes, he saw a very familiar sight. Iruka smiling at him without his Forehead Protector on. "Congratulations Naruto, on graduating," Iruka said, failing miserably at looking official and containing his smile. "Let's celebrate! I'll buy you a bowl of ramen." He barely had time to finish talking about he was forcefully hugged by Naruto, whom was smiling profusely.

This was another one of the times where he was smiling for a different reason. Everything had worked out as intended. Everything was going as planned, and he would soon be able to drop the mask that had been tiring throughout the entire day. Of course it was only for a brief moment, but he was certainly looking forward to it, especially because he could see an old friend again.

Twenty minutes later at the gates of Konohagakure, there was a rather large ensemble of people, however the most prominent was the Hokage that was standing in front of the group. He was in his formal Hokage attire, with a pipe in his smiling mouth. The smile only broadened further as a group of five people came into view of the larger group. Three Naruto's, two of which was carrying Mizuki and another supporting a limping Iruka.

"Iruka. Naruto," said Sarutobi, nodding towards them.

"Jiji-san, look what I got!" said Naruto with a big grin on his face, pointing towards his Forehead Protector.

Sarutobi smiled at Naruto, and then glanced at Iruka. "I hope you're planning to take responsibility for doing that," he calmly said towards Iruka.

"What exactly does that entail?" said Iruka with a sweat-drop.

"Paperwork. Lots of paperwork," said Sarutobi, who then burst into a warmhearted chuckle.

"Hokage-sama!" was yelled somewhere in the back of the crowd. "Hokage-sama!" The yell was moving progressively closer until an ANBU with a pig mask appeared in the middle of the crowd.

"Yes yes, what is it?" the sandaime said casually.

"It's about Uchiha Sasuke."

"What about him?"

"He was just found murdered in the Uchiha compound."

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**Author Notes: So yeah, that kind of happened. My first Naruto FanFic, and that happens. Alas, could have been worse. Anyhow, as this is my first Naruto FanFic, please do leave your opinion on it, as that normally helps me write. I don't really have anything else to say, other than I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll try to update sometime between now and the end of the universe. And just for the hell of it, I'll just say that I apologize if it seemed like a copied what happened in the manga for the large majority of this chapter, but I was kinda forced to do that, you know, because of the story and stuff. Anyway, that's just about it.**

**Have fun... I guess?**


	2. Relative Insanity

I do not own Naruto nor any of the characters in it.

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A lot of things had happened since that one eventful night. The whole village had undergone a manhunt for one, Uchiha Itachi, unsuccessful of course, as he wasn't the one whom had killed Sasuke. The person who was sitting in front of the Hokage for the third time since then, was.

The first time he sat there had been the first day after the incident. It was largely unimportant, the only thing being conversed was the fact that he was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and also a confirmation of his graduation from the academy.

The second time, it had been something he had been waiting for, but it was still somehow unexpected. Since Sasuke had died, Haruno Sakura had attempted suicide, then failed miserably at doing so though in turn abandoning her chance of becoming a kunoichi. The teams that had been set up before the examination as a template of the optimal arrangement had to be reworked. Though the only team that had needed to be fixed was team 7 that was to be lead by Hatake Kakashi.

As the last member of the phantom team, Naruto had been put in a bit of a procarious position, as his former-supposed sensei had rejected being a sensei in the first place, only being forced to do so because of the fact that he was the only other Sharingan user, that was actually fit for teaching childen albeit not exactly the perfect match.

All of that had left Naruto on his own, with a very sympathetic Hokage trying to decide what to do about him. It hadn't been easy finding a solution for the problem, much less so actually convincing a certain Kunoichi, Yūhi Kurenai that it was actually a good idea, as she had felt that it would alienate Naruto from the rest, basically keeping him at a distance and not allowing him the opportunity to create bonds with any of the other Genin. Also, it was a bit of a logistical nightmare, as he'd had to be constantly looked after, in terms of which team he had to be following.

The basic principle of Sarutobi's solution was to have Naruto join other Genin teams for oscillating intervals of time, allowing him to learn and train under different Jonin's with different specialties. He would work alone on D-rank missions, as the Kage Bunshin would allow him to do those just as efficiently as any other team. He would at times accompany other teams on C-rank missions, as a form of back-up if it was deemed necessary.

The whole system worked quite a bit like that of a Chunin, however it was during the time as Genin that most people bonded with others, most specifically their team mates, so when they entered their Chunin years, they would already have the bonds necessary to function socially. That was the flaw Kurenai had so abruptly noticed and voiced her opinion about, much to both the Sandaime's and Sarutobi's annoyance.

However it was that same remark that got the council to approve of the plan rather hastily. It almost sickened him, when they latched on to the chance of alienating him even further than what was already the case, though he had shrugged it off, as he thought that this was the best option, as well as the only option for Naruto.

Naruto, himself, had hastily accepted it and thanked him for the opportunity which always helped, though he still felt a lingering fear of Kurenai's suspicions becoming true, though there was nothing to do about it. It was either that, or the kid probably never becoming a ninja, and if you look at it that way, it was the easiest decision in his life.

Though the relief he had felt after assigning him had quickly disappeared, which could easily be seen in his tense and angered face that was in front of Naruto now. He was rapidly tapping the tip of his pen on the table, as well as his foot against the ground. He had been doing that ever since Naruto had entered the room.

It had been a very familiar scene for Naruto, walking through the Hokage's door with an ANBU behind him, sitting down in the lone chair in front of the massive desk. Looking at a rather infuriated Hokage, as he then would start listing off all the numerous pranks, and rather large ones, in a rapid succession, and then stare at him with all his might, trying to get Naruto to realize that he was hurting people... though the only thing he really cared about was the amount of paperwork that he was receiving because of it.

But it wasn't like that this time, although the infuriated state was the same, maybe even to a higher degree. This time, he wasn't angry at Naruto. He was angry at his village.

The day before, three days after the original incident

Naruto had been putting it off for far too long, and he knew it. He sighed as he walked along the crowded street, amongst the hateful glares and scornful shouts. Remaining un-phased by all of that, he finally reached his destination, home.

He had been at Ichiruka's most of the day, half of the time just sitting and doing nothing, the other half was spent over indulging in ramen. Lots of ramen. It wasn't really because he enjoyed it that much anymore, nor did he feel it was necessary to ingest copious amounts of it in one sitting, though it was to maintain his mask.

A mask, that he would soon be rid off. But for that to happen he first had to ditch his stalker and make sure the Hokage didn't use his damned crystal ball. He'd used a Kage Bunshin as usual in order to deal with the crystal issue, and turning down an alleyway and then simply running up the sides of the houses would leave a rather flustered, as well as confused Hinata at the bottom of the street.

He quickly created a clone and then dispelled it, and then momentarily feeling another clone dispel itself, informing him that the Hokage, was as usual, doing paperwork. A smirk crossed his face as he set off across the rooftops, towards the forest, just outside the village.

Five minutes later he found himself in a very desolate clearing, deep within the forest. He had made sure that there weren't any one around, as that would ruin his whole plan. He shrugged it off and sat down, placing himself in a meditation position.

He took one last look around himself. Seeing nothing, he nodded with satisfaction and closed his eyes.

He felt himself be sucked inwards, his consciousness fading ever so slightly as he felt his surroundings change. It was moldy, damp and wet. He opened his eyes and saw the large red walls surrounding him, the massive gate behind which two yellow eyes pierced at him. The not so familiar person sitting next to the gate, immobile. He'd finally come back, to his mind.

He stood up and walked through the dirty water, towards the gate. When he reached it, he placed a hand on it and sighed. "You're in there... aren't you?" he whispered.

The response he got was a snarl, and a wave of hot air coming from between the bars.

"I... need you to do something for me," said Naruto with a resolute voice.

"**And what makes you believe that I would even listen to you?" **a booming voice almost roared from behind the bars.

"There's... several reasons as to why you should help me. First of, you're going to enjoy it," he stated, quickly to be interrupted.

"**Enjoy it? Fuck off, you little shit."**

"Second of, you'll be rewarded for doing it," he continued, only to be interrupted once more.

"**And what can you give me, that I want?" **the Kyūbi asked him, its voice lowering slightly, but still retaining its sense of superiority.

"The third and final reason is because... We're the same," Naruto said, letting his hand slowly slip down the gate, taking a step to his left, and faced the large yellow eyes, that was staring at him intensely.

"**How so are we the same, ****_human,_****"** said the Kyūbi, with every possible ounce of disgust woven into its words.

"You know... you once said that no matter what humans said, it was all the same... before I couldn't understand what you were trying to say... but I see now. You were right... you were right all along. You and I, we have become very much the same. We were both hated because of what we are... you were a fragment of the Jūbi, I was a fragment of you. You grew to hate the once that hated you... Before, I tried to gain their favor, I tried to make them understand... but that failed... all of it failed. Now I understand it all... your misanthrope finally makes sense, because it is exactly the same as mine. I've grown to hate those who judge us because of what we are... and not because of who we are... You're not the Kyūbi, nor are you a part of the Jūbi. You're Kurama, just as I am not a part of you, nor a Jinchuuriki..."

Kurama's breathing had slowly become silent, the only sound was the water, slowly flowing around.

"I also know... how lonely it is... You've been trapped here for so long, forced to watch... this kid," he gestured towards the person sitting up against the wall not far from the gate, "You've been forced to watch Kushina... You've been forced to watch Mito... I cannot even try to comprehend how much you must have been festering in your own hate and loneliness... Even if eternity is on its knees before you... even if you are immortality incarnate, I still understand it. Sorrow turned to hate, through isolation... Everyone that knew you came to pass, everyone that tried soon then died. You were left behind with nothing but a image, reminding the ones around you of how you were perceived then... of the being corrupted by the hate of others..."

His words echoed throughout the room, as well as the prison. Naruto just stood there, with a lump in his throat and a weight on his chest, awaiting the imminent response from Kurama.

"**How... do you know all this?"**

"I figured you'd have caught on to that... Oh well... You see, I'm him, just older. Much... older, as you can see," he said, motioning his hands down his body. A tall, somewhat muscular body, much different compared to the one of the twelve year old Naruto whom was sitting, unconscious, leaning up against the wall.

"**So... you're from the future then?"**

He nodded.

"**How exactly did you get here?"**

"Everyone is entitled to their secrets," he said with a somewhat coy smile on his face.

"**Screw you."**

"Screw you too." The smile widened ever so slightly.

After a couple of moments, the conversation picked back up again.

"**What is it you want me to do for you?"**

"Oh, the mighty Kyūbi is willing to submit to a human?"

"**Don't push your luck you little shit. It might be that you're from the future, but time has little meaning to me."**

"Right, right, sorry..."

"**Stop apologizing and speak, you're starting to get on my nerves."**

"Very well then... I want you to fight me, or rather, I want you to send me to the brink of death, preferably in a very viceral fashion. Broken bones, torn flesh, maybe even burns, I leave that up to you," said Naruto in a very detached and apathetic way.

"**Excuse me?"**

"I want you to lacerate me. Is that enough?"

"**Not that I'm against having a... chew toy, I demand that you explain why."**

"I was planning to do that, but I guess now is as good as any other time," he said, shrugging. "It's so I can drop my mask."

"**You're really a shit for brains aren't you?"**

"Now if you'd let me explain all of it, it would probably make more sense... or not, I don't actually know anymore," he said, chuckling at himself.

"**Get on with it then, I don't have all the time in the world."**

"I thought you said that time had little meaning for you?"

"**If you don't stop that, I will destroy you."**

"You know, you kind of become less intimidating when I beat you the first time around."

"**... You? You? That kid over there? You beat me? The most pathetic human I've ever been trapped inside beat me? Who the fuck are you trying to fool?"**

"I didn't exactly expect myself to do that either... I was only able to do it because I was helped by others. I never stood on my own two feet, but I hope that this time around will be different."

"**If it wasn't for the fact that I hate you no matter what you say, I would commend you on the change. You're now a slightly less unbearable lob-headed barnacle than before, albeit you're still an annoying prick, you've at least got a spine this time."**

"Anyhow, the reason I want you to almost kill me is so that I can inhabit my normal personality."

"**How so?"**

"What do you expect would happen to him," he gestured towards the normal Naruto, "if he was tortured to near-death by the villagers for no reason?"

"**It would probably fuck him up."**

"Exactly. I'm currently molding my mask into a piece of my self, and I'm going to do that by having you lacerate me in here, which will then transfer the damages and scars to the real body. By doing that I have an excuse to behave the way I normally do, however after this there will still be some work left, though this is the biggest obstacle... You see, everything needs a catalyst, no reaction without an initial action. If the outside Naruto was to change suddenly without an explanation, it would cause suspicion, suspicion that I'd rather avoid for the time being."

"**You're really fucked up, aren't you?"**

"Yes, that's why I have to do this. Of course I could do it myself, but I figured that you'd want to sink your teeth in the person was... is your prison. It's sort of a win-win situation."

"**You've got a point, but before we start, I'd like some answers."**

"Oh?"

"**If you're from the future, why do you look like that, and why the fuck is there a younger version of yourself sitting over there in comatose?"**

"Let's just say that conventional time-travel is a bit of an impossibility.

"**I never knew there was such a thing as conventional time-travel."**

"Neither did I, but if I knew, he probably wouldn't be here."

"**You're good, boy."**

"You have no idea," Naruto said, preparing to step between the pillars of the gate.

"**Before we start, you said something about a reward for beating you senseless. What is it?"**

"It's a surprise."

"**Seriously, fuck you and your secrecy. Before I'm done with you, you'll be spilling your guts," **a big grin made its way across the gigantic fox's face, **"****literally."**

"You're really horrible at this, you know that right?" said Naruto as he took the final step into the cell, raising his hands to create a seal.

"**Wait, you're going to fight back?"**

"No, I'll just lie down and let you stomp me... Of course I'll fight back. I've gotten quite rusty over the years."

"**All the better. I get to obliterate you while you try to resist. Your arrogant ass is so going get it,"**

"Go ahead and try."

"**I will, I most certainly will."**

Two hours later he was in a world of pain. At first he had managed to keep up, much to the surprise of the Kyūbi, however as great as his endurance might have been, against a ball of condensed chakra, being a Jinchuuriki really doesn't matter that much.

He'd also found out that the Kyūbi was a bit of a sadist, as it had used the last thirty minutes toying with him. Toying as in, throwing him around, burning him, all kinds of fun stuff, at least if you asked the Kyūbi that is.

He was now lying beneath of the Kyūbi, its yellow eyes staring intently at him, waiting for him to regenerate just a little bit before it would resume its sadistic streak. He used all of his remaining power to hold up a hand, signalling it to wait.

"**What? Had enough already?"** it said, scoffing slightly with a satisfied smirk on its face.

"Before... unconscious... send exterior... chakra pulse..." said Naruto, before coughing up blood. Maybe allowing the Kyūbi to play with him like a rag-doll hadn't been the best idea.

"**Fine, but this isn't the last time we do this."**

"Al...right," he coughed, a lot, "Thank you... Kurama..."

"**...That's no-"**it started saying. He didn't hear the last of it, as his consciousness slipped, plunging into a sea of darkness and uncertainty.

He found himself in a hospital bed, surrounded by a silence and serenity that could only be found in a hospital. It was both calming and ill-boding. Naruto slowly opened his eyes, everything he saw was an unfocused blur of what he presumed was a ceiling. With, what felt like an insurmountable effort, he managed to turn his head to see the side, and saw another blob that stood out from the background.

"I...ruka?" said the barely conscious Naruto. Immediately as he opened his mouth he heard what he could ony presume to be Iruka shouting to the nurses that he had awakened, and then the blob turned towards him, softly saying incomprehensible words. Words hat were supposed to mean a lot, but was still somehow utterly useless.

He was completely convinced that no matter what anyone said would change his mind. They wouldn't and couldn't affect him, and he didn't exactly know how he felt about that. He shrugged it off mentally however, as that was the least of his concerns, as the door slammed opened, revealing the Hokage standing in the doorway, with two ANBU right behind him.

He entered the room quickly, gave a quick greeting to Iruka before turning towards Naruto whom was slowly starting to regain his vision as well as his sense of hearing.

"What happened to you Naruto?"

"Walking... then darkness came... pain... only pain... villagers... Sasuke..." he whispered as he wasn't in perfect control over his voice. Two hours of fighting against the Kyūbi would do that to you sometimes. Not like any others could really boast that they had survived that long, mostly because they were dead.

"Sasuke? What has Sasuke got to do with... this?"

"Chanting... villagers."

With that last statement, the Hokage set off, stomping his way out of the room. He didn't enjoy leaving the injured Naruto behind, but he had a lot of things to take care of, and it wasn't just paperwork.

After the Hokage had left, Naruto was bombarded with self-answering questions which he had, rather expertly, brushed aside. He then fell into a deep sleep that would last for quite some time.

The next time he woke up, most, if not all of his injuries had been taken care of by the Kyūbi's chakra. About an hour after he had awakened a couple of ANBU came to see to him and if possible pick him up to go to the Hokage's tower. He followed without any complaints, though he found that his entire body was aching quite a lot.

And that was how he arrived to the chair in front of the Hokage, sitting across from the persistent and inquisitive stare.

"How are you doing Naruto?"

"I'm..." he stopped and looked down at his feet. He swallowed and looked back up again. "Better."

"That's good to hear..." said Sarutobi in a low and caring voice. "Do you remember anything new from the incident?"

He shook his head. "I can only see the same things... just clearer."

"Do you see anyone you recognize?"

"They are just... faceless bodies moving around, chanting the 'For Sasuke' over and over and over and ov-"

"That's a shame," said Sarutobi. For each passing second he was starting to worry more and more about the boy's mental state. "Are you sure you didn't see anyone?"

Naruto nodded.

Sarutobi sighed, glancing towards the window. "We haven't been able to find anyone that knows, have heard of or participated in this... thing. If you remember anything, tell me so that we can bring them to justice."

"I... don't want to remember..." said Naruto, visibly shaking.

"Why is that?"

"I don't know what I would do to them if I remember..."

The words hung in the air for quite some time. Sarutobi could hear them repeating inside of his head, every time he felt a growing sadness for the boy, the one that had been smiling so brightly yesterday had been reduced to... such a state. It hurt.

On Naruto's side however, it was mostly occupied by something else.

**'You're really good at playing the wounded child. Does that come from experience?' **

'Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate here.' He heard a slight chuckle, followed by the continuous rambling of an extremely invigorated fox.

**'It would be a real shame if you messed up because of me and people found out about you, wouldn't it?'**

'…'

**'What's the matter? You don't want to talk now? That's such a shame, I should have realized earlier,' **the Kyūbi continued, much to the annoyance of Naruto.

'Fuck it, and fuck you. I picked it up from my time as Hokage, albeit short, you would be surprised how many people want money from the dead, and somehow they are always the victim.'

**'Is that so... wait, you were a Hokage? Don't tell me this pathetic little kid in here actually fulfilled the dream he kept yapping on about?'**

'He actually did, although he failed miserably at it. Or, well... we failed miserably at it. There's a difference between what we want to do, what we get to do, and what we need to do. We wanted it, we got to do it, but it was definitely not what we needed. If anything it was the last nail in the coffin of that Naruto.'

**'You don't say...'**

'You actually don't give a shit, do you?'

**'Not really, no.'**

'Fine, you have fun with yourself then,' he noted in his mind as he placed a mental barrier between the Kyūbi's and himself.

"-ruto... Naruto?"

Naruto looked up quickly, looking at a rather perturbed Sandaime.  
"Is something wrong?"

He quickly shook his head.

"Anyhow, do you believe yourself ready for your initiation as Genin?"

He nodded instantly.

"Are you sure about this? With all that has happened, I could understand if you wanted some tim-"

"I'm fine... if anything, I need something to distract myself..."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. He was quite surprised at how Naruto was dealing with the whole situation. He was actually behaving like an adult, which was quite the change from the normal Naruto, though he figured that with all that's been going on... Sasuke's death, his supposed former-crush attempting suicide and now this... all he could do was sigh.

"If that's what you want, then it's fine. Now, I think there should be some people outside the door I have to speak with... If you would be so kind as to let them in... And know, that if there is anything you need, feel free to stop by, okay?" said Sarutobi with a smile crossing his face. A very gentle one at that.

Naruto nodded and stood up from the chair and walked to the door with his head hung low. He opened it and saw a small gathering of people outside, namely Yūhi Kurenai, Maito Guy, Sarutobi Asuma, and Kakashi whom was somewhere around there in an hour or two's time. He walked out of the door, looking rather dejected, receiving a glance from Guy and a concerned look from Kurenai.

The three stepped in and the door closed behind them.

The first to speak was Kurenai, who's eyes still lingered towards the door. "What happened to him?"

"It's good that you asked... it's the reason I brought you in here." Hiruzen started, standing up from his chair and walking towards the panorama window of the village, looking out over it. "It seems that he was knocked out and tortured to the brink of death, only to be found in the forest, bleeding out."

The gravity of the situation hit them all like a truck, even Gai had dropped the nice-guy smile and looked serious. Even though he was largely nonsensical most of the time, he knew when it wasn't appropriate.

"Do we know who?" said Kurenai in a voice that could chill you to your bone, with a slight hint of Sakki mixed in.

"No. All we know is that Naruto stated that it had been villagers."

"Do we know why?" Gai asked.

"Not specifically, however Naruto mentioned the chanting of Sasuke's name, so one can only presume that they blamed Naruto for Sasuke's death."

"How does this concern us?" said Asuma, only moments before having an elbow jabbed into his side by Kurenai. He squired slightly, before turning to her, whispering, "was just asking," and then turning towards the Hokage again.

"Because you'll be teaching him in the not so distant future. I'm... concerned about the kid. No one walks from such a traumatizing experience unharmed... That's why I'm asking you, when he's eventually under your care, be a bit... sensitive to his situation? I don't really know, just, don't reopen the wound..."

The three of them nodded in unison.

"How exactly did he recover so fast?" Gai asked.

"It's a trait of his passenger," he said briefly.

He quickly understood what exactly he was talking about.

"Anyhow, he'll be starting with Kurenai tomorrow, and throughout the next ten days he'll be with you. He'll probably then be assigned to Asuma, then Gai, I'll inform you when it has been settled."

They nodded, again.

"Right, now that's done with, let's move on to other matters-..."

Naruto sighed as he made his way through the streets, his head still hanging quite low. There was only one thing he had to take care of, before tomorrow. Get a new outfit. Of course to the lay person, that seemed like an easy task, however for Naruto that was a bit of an issue, however he had found a solution that had been staring him in the face ever since he had been faced with the problem. He just had to Henge into another person and it was fixed. The tax for strangers was lower than the tax for Jinchuuriki.

He had learnt to shrug it off over the years, even though it had changed quite a bit ever since he'd taken down Nagato, which for the record he came to regret.

But it was still surprising how such a menial thing could escape his mind for so long, much like any Hokage and the Kage Bunshin. He shrugged it off as well. It didn't really matter anymore.

He was restless. For some reason, he found it incredibly difficult to sleep. It was quite reminiscent of his first time around, but once more he was doing the same thing but for a different reason. The last four days, things had been set into motion and he was about to witness it all unfold. It felt exhilarating, but also exhausting.

He couldn't really put words on it, but it had felt quite demanding to relive the past, if only for a brief amount of time. Originally he had not intended to drop the mask, ever, however over the last couple of days he had realized how ambitious of a decision that had been, and how impossible it was as well.

That was how he had came up with the plan of simply destroying his outside, quite similarly to how his inside had been destroyed before. It all added up to the same, seclusive, paranoid and insane mind. At least that is what he presumed, however worrying about it was too late.

There were still other things to take care of, such as getting the clones started in the library and regulating himself in order to mask his true knowledge of chakra control, ninjutsu and genjutsu in general, though that was a simple task, as he just had to refrain from showing off, however limiting taijutsu that was taught to be done as per instinct was going to be more difficult, but he had to do it nonetheless.

With those thoughts, he closed his eyes and entered a sleep, filled with dreams of unrest, turmoil, death, pain, and sorrow. One would normally have described such as a nightmare. He, on the other hand, would have described it as a memory.

* * *

**Author Notes: There we go, another chapter done. It actually exists, brilliant, innit? Anyhow, this was mostly a filler chapter, and I just quickly went over some things, such as Sakura's attempted suicide rather quickly, making it seem like a rather minuscule thing, however, don't worry, it won't be the last we see of her. Otherwise, yeah. Pretty straight forward, if you choose to ignore all the things I'm not telling you yet, hue. **

**Either way, I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Also, if it's not too much to ask, would you please consider leaving a review in regards to my writing style, as every time I've read what I've written it just feels a little off, so I'd like to know if anyone else had gotten that same feeling, or if it was just my own paranoia playing tricks with me again.**

**Anyhow, I'm off now, off to be a not so diligent student, but a very diligent sleeper. **


	3. Stand firm on shaky ground

I don't own Naruto and all of that stuff.

* * *

Naruto sat outside on the swing, drowning in his own somber silence, persistently watching the doors of the academy swing open and close for each passing person. Only a few of them had actually noticed his presence on the swing, but even fewer had actually bothered to look in his direction. Only a couple of familiar faces had decided to look his way, though he had quickly averted his eyes as he had felt their gaze.

So there he was, slowly rocking back and forth, half illuminated by the early morning sun, its light extending itself to his navel, only to be cut off by the tree. Its warmth was almost dazing, though the breeze easily counteracted, if not overdid the suns light.

The wind would occasionally send ripples through his new outfit, a long-black cloak with a hood covering his head, warping his face in shadows. The outfit beneath the cloak consisted of a rather plain looking vest with a black overtone to the otherwise green and brown color pattern. Under that was a long-sleeved completely black, except for a red whirlpool insignia in the front-center of the shirt, which clung rather tightly against his body, and a pair of loose dark trousers with plenty of pockets on it, most of which was filled with either shuriken or kunai. All in all, it was a lot different from the other suit, in a good way.

Naruto's eyes shot to the gates as he saw a person, whom he did not recognize walk into the academy grounds. It was a man, somewhere in his late-twenties, walking rather casually towards the front door, though he stopped promptly as his gaze fell upon Naruto. He was wearing the standard looking Jōnin suit, the murky-green flak vest with the black bodysuit with additional length, covering his entire neck. He had somewhat lengthy brown hair.

Their eyes met shortly, and he felt a cold nothingness. It was a hollow where absolutely nothing could emanate from. Not the scornful animosity that he was used to, nor the warmth of those who knew better. His eyes were... indifferent, apathetic even.

It reminded him of the Hyūga, but this man wasn't a Hyūga, yet his eyes felt very much the same. Naruto drew his eyes away from his, taking a closer look at the rest of his face. It had the same feel as the eyes, as his facial expression was very relaxed and indifferent. There was no real sense of strictness over him, something that further perturbed him as that was the normal companion of apathy, though said apathy might as well have been pragmatism. It was just a void, a void with bags under its eyes and a smudged crimson stain over its carotid artery.

Naruto tilted his head as he continued to down-right stare towards the man. He was perplexed, to say the least, and that only grew as the man began walking towards him.

"Hello," said the man as he stopped right in front of Naruto, whom remained silent and continued to watch the man under his hood. A rather awkward silence emerged, but neither of them seemed to really care.

"So you're Naruto… interesting, quite interesting indeed…" the man continued.

Naruto finally looked up from his hood and said; "And why is that?"

"I read your file before the _incident_ and from what I can see, it needs to be updated," said the man before breaking into a yawn.

"Am I supposed to care?"

"No, not in the slightest."

"Then why are we talking?" said Naruto, sighing.

"Because I thought it'd be best if we be acquainted before the teams are assigned."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and then responded with; "I fail to see the reason for that," the sentence overflowing with skepticism.

"I guess the Hokage didn't tell you," the man said, almost teasing him, though his completely emotionless voice made him think otherwise.

Naruto waited for a few seconds, waiting for the man to continue, but as he didn't, he took the initiative and asked; "About what?"

"Well, the Hokage thought it would be a good idea to have someone supervise your progress and I was chosen for the job," he said, with the same tone, a tone that was beginning to annoy Naruto a bit.

'Brilliant, just fucking brilliant. As if the crystal ball wasn't enough, now I've got to worry about this guy as well…' he thought.

'**it really seems like fate has it out for you, doesn't it?' **the Kyūbi noted.

'If there is any such thing as fate, that is,' he responded.

'**Mhm… with what happened to Hinata, I can understa-,' **said Kurama but was quickly interrupted by Naruto.

'What do you know about Hinata?!' he asked rather hastily.

'**I remember that time when she interrupted your s-…'** Kurama stopped midsentence, remaining silent.

'_How_ do you know about that!?' he mentally shouted.

'**How the fuck am I supposed to know?! Apparently I can't even make sense of my fucking memories!' **the Kyūbi snarled back at him.

'We'll discuss this later… for now, I've got things to take care of,' he said, cutting off the mental connection between the two.

Naruto refocused his eyes and saw that the man was just standing there in front of him, silently observing him. "What?" he said with an annoyed and somewhat angry voice.

"Oh, nothing, it just seemed like you were a bit preoccupied all of a sudden. I wouldn't dream of disturbing you if you were in the middle of something… important."

"What are you insinuating?" Naruto responded.

"What don't you want me to insinuate?" he retorted.

"I-… am getting tired of this," Naruto sighed.

The man turned his head towards the academy for a brief moment, after which he faced Naruto again, with the slightest of smirks on his face. "What impeccable timing, indeed. It seems that they are… well, were prepared for the announcement of the teams."

"What do you mean, 'were'?" he asked.

"What do you think I mean?" he said, sighing slightly, before turning around and heading towards the front doors. "They've probably already begun, that is, if my sense of time hasn't been distorted too much."

Naruto sighed, again, before standing up from the swing and following the slightly mysterious man towards and into the academy building. Before completely entering the door, he spotted something pink at the gate.

He entered the newly cleaned and empty reception, the normal attendant missing, something that he was grateful for, albeit a minuscule detail.

He continued down the hallway, finding the man standing at the doorway of the classroom, from which he could hear a person shouting from, though slightly muffled by the irregular and sudden bursts of cheers coming from the same room. Naruto walked up to the side of the man and leaned towards the frame of the door, after which he pulled down his hood an inch lower.

"And that's team six. Moving on, team seven consists of; Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. Their Jōnin-sensei will be Yūhi Kurenai, and that's team seven. Team e-."

While the announcer was yelling the rest of team eight, the man poked Naruto and asked; "We'r… You're supposed to follow team eight, right?"

"Yes, now stop bothering me," he said absentmindedly. The man nodded in reply.

"-at's team eight. Team nine will be Akimichi Chōji, Nara Shikamura and Yamanaka Ino. Their Jōnin-sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma."

That was the point when he stopped caring about the announcements. As long as the former teams were still the same, everything should be fine, or that was at least what he thought, as he stepped away from the door into the hallway and took a long-dawn breath.

"Sure is crowded in there, isn't it?" the man said, now leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, persistently staring at him with his tired eyes.

"You just won't leave me alone, will you?"

"Do you want me to leave you alone?

"Yes."

The smallest of smirks appeared again. "Now now Naruto, that's not what you're supposed to say when you're still reeling in the aftermath of such a traumatic event. Not very consistent at all, no."

Naruto shot him a glare after which he said; "Why are you really here?"

"I'm just here to supervise you, just as I mentioned previously."

"Why do I find that hard to believe..?"

"Probably because you're hiding something and you're feeling threatened by the prospect of me searching for whatever secret you're keeping from u… me."

"If you don't stop this soon I'm going to file a harassment complaint to the Hokage," said Naruto, annoyed beyond belief.

"You don't need to worry about that, I've already informed the Hokage of my… 'verbal harassment'" he said, as one side of his mouth briefly contorted into a grin before returning to normal.

Naruto narrowed his brow underneath his hood and stared, if not glared at him.

The man simply shrugged and sighed lowly before stating; "I was chosen to do… this, without my consent, so I preemptively warned the Hokage of my potential harassment. He couldn't care less, and informed me that, in case you brought it up that he'd prefer if you kept the paperwork to a minimum."

Naruto scoffed and what just about to say something, but was stopped by Yūhi Kurenai, who was currently being blocked by the both of them. "Excuse me," she said to the man whom was blocking the doorway.

He quickly nodded and stepped out of her way. She passed him quickly and entered the classroom. She glanced over her shoulder at the two rather shady looking people standing just outside the classroom. She shrugged it off and looked back at the classroom filled with adolescent potential and noise, an astounding amount of noise. It was to be expected she figured, before taking a deep breath and loudly saying; "Would the members of team seven please come to me?"

Three kids rose from their seats, the first of which being tall kid, wearing a sea-green jacket with a tall, upturned collar and dark sunglasses, who was sitting at the corner of the back row. The next one was a boy with a feral looking face, a red marking on each of his cheeks and a hoodie pulled up and a dog resting in a pocket on his chest, he was sitting in the middle of the class.

The third and last was a flustered looking girl, looking around like a fledgling just about to jump out of its nest. She was wearing a plain looking white hoodie. She was sitting in the outskirts of a pack of girls looking rather isolated.

The three of them convened before Kurenai, some faster than others.

Kiba walked rather cautiously towards the famed Ice-queen of Konoha. She was one of the few he had decided against trying to enthrall with his superior everything for reasons that were quite obvious. That was his version of the story anyway.

Hinata was also cautious, but for entirely different reasons. She wasn't the best with new people, and especially not ones that seemed to tower like Kurenai. She had a certain feel of… not superiority, something along the lines of being untouchable. She wasn't sure exactly what she was thinking, it was more of an instinctual reaction, or that was what she would have thought if she actually would have worried about thinking about it.

Shino, however, didn't care. He was completely unaffected by all of the rumors about her, because they were nothing more than rumors, he presumed, and her posture was only frightening depending on whom she was perceived by, and Shino wasn't really one to be intimidated by anyone. Anyone did not, however, include his close family, more specifically his mother.

Their team's first meeting was an awkward experience… an apathetic pragmatist, a submissive overconfident brat, a girl furiously rubbing her hands together while looking everywhere but at her sensei, and then finally the self-assertive tower that was Kurenai.

It wasn't exactly the most ideal of groups, but it just needed to be molded. How much so, was up for debate, but there could be no doubt that Kurenai had her work cut out for her, especially so since she had been assigned a rumored prankster with potential mental instabilities. At least she had been assigned some help, though she couldn't help but notice how both of them weren't there.

"Right, now that's done with, let's move on to other matters," the Hokage said as he reached into his desk and withdrew a file and tossed it on top of the desk. On the cover of the file, there was a picture of a plain looking man with normal brown hair and a name just above the face. "This man is going to supervise Naruto during his early genin time. As such, he'll be assisting you when Naruto is which your teams."

They nodded collectively again.

"As you can imagine, that isn't the sole reason he is accompanying Naruto," the Hokage continued. He reached for the file and opened it to the third page and pointed at a sub-section titled, 'Mental Assessment'. He then went on to tap an underlined word, 'unstable'. "Now before you begin to ask questions as to why I'm appointing a person assessed to be mentally unstable with a traumatized Naruto, let me explain. There is a reason why he is unstable, and that is because he's also gone through quite… morbid events that has lead him down a certain path. The thought process is that he will be able to lead Naruto through some difficult times based upon his own experience. It would also serve as a good way to rehabilitate him into society. He used to be a valid jōnin, and it would be of great service to Konoha if we could re-instate him to his former position. It's essentially two birds with one stone," the Hokage explained.

"What was his former position?" Asuma asked.

"Classified," the Hokage quickly said.

"Huh…" Asuma noted with a hint of skepticism.

"Is it really safe to have him work with children?" Gai said.

"It might state that he is unstable, but I assure you that he is completely harmless," the Hokage brushed off, and then turned his eyes towards Kurenai, waiting for her response as the last of the three to ask a question.

"Could I… borrow this file? I'd like to read it," she asked.

"Sure, as long as you archive it when you're done with it," Sarutobi said casually with a slight smile.

Kurenai nodded quickly and closed the file and took it under her arm.

"If that is all of your questions, then you're dismissed."

The three of them nodded and bowed quickly whilst saying their short salutations.

That night Kurenai found herself strangely engrossed by the prospect of meeting the man, albeit slightly worried as well, as she would normally think that having a man with such a... strange character around kids wouldn't be the best of ideas, however she did feel an ounce, if not more, of sympathy for him. If what she had read was any indication of what the man had gone through, he deserved that at least, the problem was whether or not he would accept her sympathy. She had decided to not voice her opinion unless called upon to do so, as the file indicated that he was… rather unwelcoming of sympathy or pity. She had just accepted that his moral compass was too abstract to worry about and left it at that.

"Hello there," Kurenai said, casually smiling at her new students. The three of them replied, with varying degrees of stuttering, ranging from not at all, to a horrible mess of syllables. "We'll have a short introduction in a moment, but first, do any of you know where I can find Uzumaki Naruto?" she said, looking over their heads, briefly surveying the room for any sign of orange. As she didn't find anything, she looked back at her students, finding that both Shino and Kiba were staring at Hinata, whom was blushing fiercely. "Am I missing something here?" she asked.

"U-um… I-I haven't seen N-Naruto-kun today..." Hinata managed to said, although it was barely audible.

Kurenai nodded and asked; "What about you two?"

Shino was the first to answer with; "If Hinata-san does not know, then it is highly unlikely that we would know," he stated matter-of-factly.

Kurenai narrowed her brow and looked more intently at the two boys. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Well, Hinata is stalki-," Kiba started, by was interrupted by an even flustered Hinata.

"K-Kiba!" she exclaimed quickly.

Kurenai felt a strong need to face palm, however resisted the temptation. "So, we don't actually know where he is?"

Kiba shrugged and looked around again. "I can smell him though."

She was close to questioning him, though the dog in his jacket quickly reminded her of his heritage. "Well?"

"He's out there," Kiba said, pointing towards the door, directly at the two shady people who was still standing just outside the room in utter silence, scowling at each other.

"Are you sure?" she asked, as neither of the two seemed to match the description of Naruto, although one of them was strangely familiar…

"Yeah, he smells like fox, it's pretty special."

"Right," Kurenai said, heading towards the door, followed closely by her new entourage. "Hel-" she began, but stopped herself as the man turned to face her and she finally recognized his face. "You're Kodoku Yoshiaka, right?" she asked. He briefly nodded.

"Oh, so that's your name… I was starting to wonder," the person in the cloak said.

"Na-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, popping her head out from behind Kurenai.

"Ah, Hello there Hinata-san," Naruto said casually, something that confused Hinata slightly, as he normally addressed her as 'Hinata-chan'. Her face lowered slightly.

"You're Naruto?" Kurenai said with slight disbelief towards the hooded person.

Naruto sighed and drew the hood back, revealing his rather unique orange hair and the pronounced birth marks. "You satisfied?"

Kurenai cleared her throat and nodded. "Well, now that we are all here, let's get moving before it gets too crowded in here."

As the six of them made their way out of the front door, Naruto saw a familiar looking pink-haired girl sitting on _his_ swing, fully submerged in the shadow of the tree, with her head lowered slightly. As soon as he was outside she looked up, directly at him.

"Could you give me a minute?" he asked Kurenai.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and then turned her attention towards the girl at the swing. She nodded. "Just don't take too long. We'll be waiting outside the gate."

"It's appreciated," he said before heading towards the tree. As he approached, the girl stood up and faced him with red eyes.

"Haruno… what do you want?" he asked her harshly.

She seemed to be taken aback for a brief second, her bloodshot eyes widening and blinking rapidly before calming down and looking at him with her usual drone-like gaze. "Hey Naruto-_kun_, how have you been doing?" she said sweetly and with a broad smile.

"Well enough, now what do you want?" he said coldly.

"You know, I was just thinking that you always liked me, and I thought I should give you a chance," she said, her smile persisting, although the edge of her mouth was twitching, something she didn't seem to notice.

"I don't like you," he said with a casual emotionlessness.

Sakura's first reaction was to laugh abruptly and then say; "What are you talking about? You like me right? You always have… right?" she said, as cracks started to break her smile slowly, destroying her already crumbling façade.

"I liked you once," he started, and as he did, her faces brightened, "but that was then, and this is now, and currently I feel nothing but disgust for you."

Her smile finally broke and she tears slowly began to fall from her eyes, trailing down her face, only to drop from her cheeks to the down-trodden grass beneath their feet. "B-but… why?" she managed to stutter out.

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently? Have you seen beyond your pathetic reflection and actually seen yourself? Have you ever stopped and considered your actions for a moment? It's like you're incapable of any intelligent thought-production. You even tried to kill yourself, I mean, fuck. You're a bloody wreck for all the wrong reasons," he said, waiting for a second to ponder. "Say, Haruno, do you feel sorrow?"

She looked at him with her teary eyes and nodded.

"If it is as you claim, then let me tell you something, _Haruno_. There are two types of sorrow. There is the rain, and then there is the snow. Each are alike in the sense of them disrupting the ground beneath the clouded sky, but the outcome is entirely different. During the rain, the world seems grey and sad, but afterwards the ground has received nourishment which it uses to grow, to blossom. But the snow lies thicker and longer, slowly draining all life from the earth that lies beneath, destroying every form of life beneath its terrifying blanket. After the snow disappear, it leaves a dull ground, rid of everything. It destroys the flourishing ground that used to be and replaces it with a cold, dead surface. The rain is nourishing, where as the snow is strangulating. Now, Haruno, which do you believe is affecting you?" he asked.

She looked down, using her arms to hug herself. "T-… the snow," she sobbed.

"As I thought. Now let me tell you something. What you feel right now is nothing more than an illusionary cloud moving in front of an already dying sun. It is not the disappearance of Sasuke that made you like this; it is your rotten self that has made you become such a husk. Even now I'm worried whether or not my words fall on deaf ears," he explained, sighing.

Sakura remained silent, still looking down into the ground persistently, hugging herself even tighter than before as the ears kept falling in a steady-pace.

Naruto sighed whilst looking at her. He wasn't sure exactly what to do, but he had a general idea. "Look, Haruno. I'll make a deal with you," he said calmly.

She looked up from her feet, trying her hardest to stop crying. "W-… what?"

"If you truly feel like you are unable to live with yourself after Sasuke died, then I will do you a favor of sorts. If you are able to come to me with a smile on your face, and ask me to kill you, then I will do so, given that you show no signs of hesitation. The other option would be for you to sever all your ties with this world, repay everyone who ever gave you anything and then come to me. If you do either of these, I would be glad to end your supposed misery."

She stared at him blankly for a couple of second, holding back her tears. She then nodded.

"Well, that's settled then. I've got to get moving, so I'll see you when you're ready I guess."

She nodded again, sitting down on the swing, supporting herself with the string of rope holding up the swing.

Naruto turned around and left her there, with little care for her wellbeing. That encounter had probably further established his disgust for her, although he could understand her actions. Her normal life had been shattered, so she tried to reach for straws of that which had once been, but it was too late for that. Even if he had accepted, he would've been nothing more than a tool for her to stabilize herself with, a tool which own happiness would be nothing more than a second-thought. He scoffed slightly as he thought about it.

"You're not really going to do it, are you?" Kurenai asked him as he exited the academy grounds.

"You were listening," Naruto rhetorically asked as he turned around to face her.

"Answer my question."

He sighed and looked back towards the tree. "Of course I wouldn't do it," he lied, "and even if I was, the requirements are beyond her reach."

Kurenai sighed in slight relief, though for some reason she couldn't shake the thought of him being serious. "Let's get going then. I sent the others ahead, since I imagine that one set of prying ears was enough…" she said as she started walking towards a small café in the outskirts of the city. Naruto quickly followed suit, though quickly pulling his hood up before venturing completely into the crowded midday streets.

It didn't take long for them to reach the shop, which was a good thing since they had been walking in a sort of awkward silence the entirety of the way there.

When they finally reached the shop with a large sign on which was written 'dango', they could easily see the four of them siting inside, slowly nipping away at each of their small basket of dango's. The three new teammates were sitting on one side of the table, and Yoshiaka was sitting alone on the other side, next to two additional baskets of dango.

When they entered the shop, Yoshiaka, who was the only one facing the entrance, looked up at them briefly, before returning his gaze towards the little basket in front of him. Kurenai also shot a glance towards a suspicious purple-haired tan coat wearing person standing at the counter of the shop. The glance was returned.

They went around the table and sat down, Kurenai in the middle and Naruto to her right, sitting in front of Hinata. They exchanged short greetings and apologies for being late, after which Kurenai began her delayed introduction.

"So, now that we are all finally here, I feel like introductions are in order," she said smiling at the three sitting in front of her. "I'm Yūhi Kurenai and I'd prefer if you refer to me as Kurenai-sensei. As you know, I'm a jōnin, though I was only recently promoted, so you guys will be my first genin team, so I hope we will all get something good out of this. My hobbies are talking with my friends, going out, and training. I like my friends of course, being a kunoichi and developing my skills. I dislike blockheads, people who view females as inferior and cake. My dream is to make everyone view kunoichi just as they view any other ninja," she said, then nudging Yoshiaka in the side.

He promptly sighed and began his introduction as well; "Yeah, so I'm Kodoku Yoshiaka, and since I'm not your sensei, I don't really care what you call me, although if I was, I still wouldn't care. I'm also a jōnin, I've been it for quite a while now, and I've never worked with children who are still… _breathing_," he flinched slightly as he said it, "My hobbies are… reading and… thinking I guess. I like sleeping," he said although most of them somehow found that hard to believe as the man who said it had large bags under his eyes, and just looked generally very tired, "and silence. I'm a big fan of silence. I don't like… a lot of things, though the most prevalent of which are idiots, infants, loud obnoxious people, and tomatoes. Absolutely hate them, and my goal is to rid the world of them. But in all seriousness, my goal is to make people see what's beyond the words that are spoken, and master the art of hearing what people are not saying," he said, glancing towards Naruto, who in return just looked away.

"That was quite… interesting," Kurenai noted, before motioning to Shino, whom was sitting in front of Yoshiaka to go on.

"I am Aburame Shino. My hobbies are as follows; cultivating the hive, training and learning new family jutsu's, because I wish to become a great shinobi. I like my companions, people who respect the value of each single insect, and learning. I dislike insect spray, irrational people, and tofu balls. My goal is to become a great shinobi, as I stated previously, and as such I'd like to fight someone strong," he said with his usual, emotionless voice.

Kurenai just nodded and moved her gaze to Kiba, whom was sitting next to Shino.

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba, and this is Akamaru! My hobbies are walking and playing with Akamaru, and hanging out with my friends. I like Akamaru, my clan, and my friends. I don't like cats, foxes, and colds. My dream is to one day become the Hokage," Kiba said.

Kurenai nodded and looked at Hinata, whom was sitting next to Kiba and in front of Naruto, blushing slightly.

"I'm H-Hinata Hyūga and my hobbies are pressing flowers and..." She went quiet and looked at Naruto with an almost guilty expression.

"Her hobby is stalking Nar-," Kiba spurted out, but was quickly stopped by a flustered Hinata stomping her foot down on his causing him to flinch.

"A-anyway... I like," again, she looked at Naruto before continuing, "flowers... considerate people, and kind people... I d-dislike people who discriminate because of rank, and inconsiderate people," she glanced towards Kiba, "My dream is to... become an o-outstanding leader of the Hyūga-clan..."

Kurenai nodded for the third time and signalled for Naruto to start.

"Mhm... I'm Uzumaki Naruto as you're very well aware of... My hobbies are training. I like... the stars and the night... I dislike... hmm... most of the villagers, if not all, the sun and traitors. My dream is to... I don't really know... maybe being able to see the stars during the day?" he said absentmindedly.

Kurenai waited a second before nodding, and as she finally did it, she said; "Alright, I think that's about it. If there isn't anything else, then I'd like for all of you to meet at training grounds seventy, tomorrow at ten."

The 'four' kids said their short goodbyes before heading out of the shop, some faster than others. Yoshiaka stayed behind and looked at Kurenai after the four of them had exited the shop. Kurenai returned the look, though found that he was averting his eyes, something she had not noticed before.

"I'd like you to inform me as to what you've got planned for tomorrow's test. More specifically, what you've got planned for Naruto's part. I don't really care about what you've got planned for the others as that is pretty obvious, considering that you're not incapable."

Kurenai blankly stared at him, not entirely sure whether or not to feel offended. "I hadn't really thought about it, since I presumed that you were not complete incapable and that you would plan something."

"Mhm, yes, that is a logical assumption. I figured that after the search that you've planned, you could have Naruto use his Kage bunshin to search a larger area and eventually catch whatever you've planned for them to 'chase'."

Kurenai nodded again, something she found herself doing quite a bit. Yoshiaka stood up and started walking away, casually waving a hand over her shoulder towards her. After he left the shop, the completely inconspicuous person standing at the desk decided to make her way down to Kurenai, who was now sitting all by herself.

"That was Yoshi-chan, wasn't it?" Anko said, sitting down in front of Kurenai.

"Yoshi-chan? You know him?" she asked.

"Surprisingly, yes, I ran in to him one night at the bar a while back. It was... quite interesting," Anko said with a smirk on her face.

Kurenai was silent for a little while, staring at her best friend's grinning face. "You slept with him, didn't you?"

"I might have," Anko responded, the grin growing wider.

"For some reason, I just can't imagine it," she said, reflecting on her knowledge of Yoshiaka.

"Well, you'd wish you were able to if you knew about it. It was quite... I don't know, special."

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but how was it special?"

"Let's just say he knew what he was doing. A lot and for a while," Anko said, licking her lips.

"I'm wondering as to why you haven't told me about him before, I mean, I can't get you to stop some times, and most if not all get an honorable mention..."

"Well, it's a bit weird, because that was the only time I ever saw him and I really wasn't sure whether or not he had just been some sort of dream because the night after it was as if he had never been there... I could feel he had been there though," Anko said, her mischievous smile growing yet again.

"There are limits to what I want to hear, limits that I've made clear a lot..."

"You know you can't fool anyone, you secretly love hearing about it, don't you," Anko laughed.

Kurenai was silent for a little while, looking at the desk. "...Maybe."

"So, what do you remember?"

"**I don't like that tone."**

"This is not the time for me or you for that matter, to worry about petty preferences. Now tell me."

"**Alright, but this is the last time you talk to me that way."**

"That depends."

"**Fine, whatever. I remember some things that... haven't happened yet. It's weird and convoluted, and worst of all, it's subtle. It's like the memories slowly move in and place their roots... And the weirdest part is that they are clearly your memories, and not mine."**

"Hmm... That is weird. Do you know anything about _him_?"

"**Who?"**

"Good, you don't. Then everything should be fine. I will probably be able to give you a proper explanation as to why this is happening to you in the near future, but right now, I won't be able to give you any answers."

"**Who the fuck is **_**him**_**? Don't just brush it off like it's nothing, but it's not, now tell me you little shit!"**

"I have no intentions of doing so, though there is something that I'd like to tell you. Do you really believe that I'd really be overpowered by you in a fight? I could beat you with crutches at sixteen years old. If I really wanted, you'd be the one lying with your face in this murky water."

"**You talk big at the other side of those bars, how about you come over here and try to say that again!"**

"I will, most definitely, but not now. I don't want to bother with a fox with an exaggerated ego and an anger management issue right now. There are other details that are more important than your satisfaction, so if you want to be happy, you'd best be lowering your bar because otherwise, this place is going to be a lot gloomier than it is already."

"**You know, I actually imagined that you'd be different from the rest, but you're just another sack of disgusting meat, just like the rest."**

"If that is how you feel, I really couldn't care less, but I've things to take care of, and those things take priority over your perception of me. Just... wait, I guess. I haven't forgotten what I promised you."

"**The fuck did you promise me?"**

"You'll see soon enough, but right now, it'd be best if we got some... alone time. I'll contact you whenever there is reason to do so. Don't bother trying to contact me, it won't work."

"**Fine, but I'm not going to let this be forgotten."**

"I didn't know foxes held grudges."

"**And I didn't know heroes attempted suicide."**

Their connection was broken the second that was said.

* * *

Author Notes: Yeah, so this was pretty much the average introduction chapter. Aaaaaanyhow, I hope you enjoyed I guess. I'm not entirely sure what I'll be doing with the space between the end of this chapter and towards the land of the waves (which will be included for reasons that are obvious I guess?). I'm currently debating what to with this Haku and Zabuza, though I have a general idea... hue, hue, hue, hue. Anyway, that's it. Done, over, fin, ending, all of that jazz. Hope you enjoyed and that something will something someone somewhere and that someone will enjoy that something that someone experienced. English is a funny.

Hue.

Edit: I'd just like to clarify some things. First of all, the OC is not going to play a major role in this story, what so ever. He is there for a reason, yes, but that reason is only minute in comparison to everything else. He will mostly be lurking the background without really treading into the light, as this fanfic will be mostly, if not entirely, focused on Naruto. I do understand, thanks to a reviewer, that right now, he seems to be filling the already occupied shoes of a major character, and that will not be the case. I also realize that this section is entirely pointless, as you opinion is solely based upon what you've just read, as in the story and not this section. Also, a thing I noted was that it was necessary for someone to supervise Naruto (I removed the section). That is complete and utter bullshit. That is not the reason he is there, though the reason is as of right now not something I'd disclose.

I'm sorry if the OC has put you off the story, however I completely understand and I hope that you will find another story to occupy your time.


	4. Remembance of a Past Future

I've decided to have the author notes here because of reasons. I'll be brief, and state that it'll probably be a while until my next update, since I'm currently waiting for the manga to finish, as the resolution of that will in someway impact the next chapter substantially. Other than that, I hope you enjoy this chapter, which is a step away from the other three. I'm planning to have more 'flashbacks' since that is also an important part of the story which shouldn't be squandered. Anyhow, I'll leave you to your reading and all of that fancy stuff. (Also, it's a bit shorter than usual because of reasons)

* * *

It was quite the surrealistic scene, that, he was willing to admit. What he didn't want to accept however, was the fact that most would probably describe it as either wrong or stupid. He simply didn't care. It was far too late to care at this point. He shrugged and then let out a quite sigh. He looked around once more. He first faced the mirror, his own mature reflection greeting him with the same anguished face he was wearing. He shut his eyes for a brief moment, before opening them again only to be met with the same painful face.

He turned away, this time looking at the calendar, which was hanging on the wall opposite of the large mirror that encompassed his entire body. The little circle, surrounding the date of October tenth was still there. Just above all the dates, there was a picture of the hokage monument, with the six faces of all the previous and current hokages. He smirked at the thought that the picture would soon be outdated.

He turned his attention back to his original focus point. The three objects on the small wooden table in front of him. He started from the left, picking up the tiny vial first. He lifted it up in front of his head, staring through the crystal clear liquid inside of it, towards the sun that was slowly setting above the trees in the horizon. He lowered it slightly and pulled out the cork, then bringing it up to his nose and smelling it briefly, only to find out, again, that it didn't have a smell. He put it down, returning the cork back to its place and then moved on to the second item on the table.

It was a fairly standard gold coin, except for the fact that the side of the coin he was looking at right now was blank, without engravings or even a scratch to soil the smooth surface. He picked it up and turned it around. The other side of the coin was also blank, little to his surprise. He turned it again and placed it back down to its original spot, where the retreating sun was still able to send its light to catch the glimmering surface.

He then fixated on the last, and biggest of the three remaining items. He grabbed its shaft and raised it from the table with his increasingly unsteady hands. The cold, rough leather felt somehow refreshing to have within his grasp again. It was almost as if a void had been filled, a longing that could only be sated with the return of what had been there in the first place. He had grown so used to having it in his hand that it felt unnatural for it to be away. However, it didn't calm him. If anything, the sensation he felt having grasped the object was unsettling to him. He used his other hand and removed the sheath, revealing the polished metal blade that had been hiding beneath the cover.

He carefully laid the sheath down on the table again, after which he used his spare hand to run along the blade's length. It was a fairly standard combat knife, with only two minor alterations. It had a word engraved on one side of the blade, something which he had done himself. It read; 'Friends'. He had found the concept quite amusing when he had done it. He flipped it over, and looked at the word on that side. 'Past'. It wasn't as amusing as the other, as it had a whole other connotation. Whereas the 'Friends' one had been sort of ironic, the 'Past' had most certainly not. It felt graver than anything else. He ran his fingers over that side of the blade as well, feeling how his skin would sink into the etched letters. His hand began to calm down as he sighed, letting the impression of the blade's metal fill his mind completely, ridding himself of all unnecessary thoughts. He rotated it slightly, only to have the sun's refraction shoot right into his eyes, knocking him out of his almost trance like state. He winced his eyes slightly, before finally coming back to his senses, placing the blade down on top of the sheath he had placed earlier.

He stood there for a whole minute, doing nothing but bathing in the light of the ever reddening sun. He forced himself to sigh once more, after which he took a deep breath and opened his mouth, only to close it again due to indecision. He shook his head and then focused entirely on the setting sun.

"Will I seize to exist in the light of the dying sun, where my beloved stars of the night are blind to my agony..?" he said to himself, still looking out into the horizon.

"No...no, I will..." his stomach clenched as an indescribable feeling rolled over him. "...end, in the light of the dying sun, where my beloved stars of the night are blinded by my selfish misery..."

He let the words hang in the air for a couple of moments before slowly nodding to himself.

He reached forward towards the coin, picking it up between his fingers as a cloud blocked the rays of the sun. He balanced the coin on his index finger, before flicking him thumb, sending the coin spinning up into the air. It was as if the coin hung in the air for minutes, as his perception of time was somehow twisted by his mind. When the coin finally began to fall downwards, the cloud moved and the room was again bathed in the red light of the sun. It was half-ways down when he heard someone knock on the door rather softly.

The coin finally fell into his hand, and he flipped it over, hiding the outcome with his palm.

"Naruto, I know you're in there," a familiar voice said, a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. How long, he was currently unsure, as a second seemed like a minute and the hours might as well have been years for all he knew.

He removed the hand that was covering the coin, and nodded to himself once more. He tossed the coin aside, and swept the vial off the table, sending it crashing into the ground. The glass broke loudly, and the liquid splashed onto the dusty wooden floor.

"What's going on in there?" the voice said; worry starting to appear in its tone. It was growing more familiar, although he wished for it to leave, but he couldn't ignore it. All he could do was hope that it would leave. Everything would be so much easier if it just left, so why did it have to interrupt him..?

He threw the thought away as he reached for the shaft of the combat knife, gripping it firmly, lifting it up in front of him. He could see the reflection of his face on the silvery surface.

"I'm coming in" the voice said, just as he began raising the knife towards his throat. The doorknob turned and the door slid open as the blade neared his skin. He could hear someone walking inside, with light steps. He heard a gasp just as the knife lightly touched his skin, and then he stopped.

"Naruto…what..?" the voice said.

He sighed and turned around, the knife still at his throat. As he turned around and began to see who was behind him, the apathetic façade was slowly being overtaken by a frown, growing ever larger as the silent seconds slowly passed them by. When he finally recognized who was in front him, not that he hadn't have ideas as to who it was in the first place, he began to slowly lower the knife from his throat.

"Why...? Why did it have to be you?" he said almost inaudibly.

"I…Naruto, I still don't understand?" she said, the confusion apparent in both her voice and on her face.

"There isn't much to understand. I was planning to en-, "the feeling in his stomach returned, causing him to flinch slightly,"-d myself, but then you came," he said whist placing the knife haphazardly on the table behind him.

"If…but…why did you stop?" she said, taking another step into the apartment.

"Haven't I already caused you enough pain? What I've done to you, it's something I regret, more than anything else, Hinata. I couldn't liv-…I wouldn't be satisfied with the notion of leaving this world, or more specifically, you, with more scars than what you already have. Everything would've been perfectly fine had you not shown up, since you're the only person remaining in this world, I would bear the burden of living for, albeit only until my back breaks and I'm without other options…I would've died, and the world would move on like it always does. I would become nothing more than a sorrowful remembrance, left in solitude to fade away into the passage of time…but I know you, or at least I've convinced myself that I do, and for what I know, you wouldn't be able to move on with the rest of the world, had you known you could stop it…No matter what I say now, if I carry through with my decision before you, you would without a doubt be stuck in the now, and then, the past. I don't want that for you, and I'm quite sure that you don't either…" he said to her.

An odd silenced descended upon them. Not a word uttered, nor a muscle moved as they stared at each other. It wasn't long until Naruto, surprisingly, got fed up with the void of words and decided to fill it once more.

"Please say something. I can't justify myself if you don't accuse me, nor will I be able to redeem myself if you do not tell me what needs to be done. If you wish not to speak, then so be it, I won't force you to do anything, I just ask that you withhold your judgment until you've had your questions answered," he said with an almost chilling tone, as if he was just stating a fact.

Hinata nodded slowly, her eyes persistently keeping watch over him, as if he would do something if her gaze left him for but a second.

"Just to clarify, I'm not looking for punishment, understanding or anything of the sort. I couldn't care less, what I am hoping for is for you to accept my decision and let me carry it out."

"Why would I ever let you do something like… like this?" she asked, gesturing towards the knife on the table and the items lying on the floor.

"Because you've yet to listen to my reasons. One can understand a situation by looking, but one cannot accep…excuse me, one should not be able to truly accept a situation without hearing the justification. If that was the case, one would be under the assumption that one's own understanding of the order, or sense of the situation is good enough, or adaptable enough to fully comprehend what exactly is going on," he stated. "Both of which are nothing more than childish notions of brilliance."

"How is that at all important? You were trying to kill yourself!" Hinata said, her tone becoming a mix of anger, confusion and sadness.

"Well, not exactly," Naruto muttered.

"What were you trying to do then?!" Hinata almost yelled, startling Naruto slightly, the thought of the once quiet and fragile Hinata would be yelling at him, the concept was in of itself hard enough to grasp, but for it actually to happen baffled him.

"In order to kill yourself, then you have to be alive in the first place," was all he said.

"But you're alive! You're still breathing, aren't you?" she retorted hastily.

Naruto looked down at his chest and saw how it was slowly rising and lowering itself, after which he returned his focus to Hinata. "Although I may still be breathing, it is only this empty shell that is alive; I can most assuredly tell you that my mind is dead, deceased and soon to be buried. You didn't interrupt the death, you interrupted the funeral."

"If you're dead then who am I talking to?"

"A remnant…mhm, no, it's more like a stagnated part of my mind that was needed to destroy the shell…I guess it would be a self-destruction mechanism, if that is enough to answer your question."

"Naruto, you're not making any sense right now," she sighed.

"Maybe not to you, but to me I couldn't be clearer. I'm even trying to accommodate to you, just so you would be able to understand," he said casually.

"Why are you even trying to do that in this situation?" she asked, to which he just shrugged. "How can you be so careless about something like this?!" she yelled at him.

"My speech pattern o-" he started, but was cut off from an angry Hinata, something which he had previously thought to be non-existent.

"Your behavior, your actions, your expression…just, everything!" she responded.

"Well…after I died, caring didn't really make sense anymore. I'm just finishing the plan the world set into motion anyway, so…I don't know, it never really struck me as anything out of the ordinary?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary? You were trying to kil-… end yourself, and that is not out of the ordinary?"

"Not really, no. You see, a year and a half ago, this idea popped into my head, which I then initialized a year ago on this exact date. The idea was to create five clones a day and then have them be around for a week, in which they use their time to find some solution to this problem, and when the week is at its end, they get a choice. Either they would kill themselves, or live, a simple choice really. Not a single clone out of more than eighteen hundred chose to live. Every single one of them could not find a reason to remain, which leaves me here with an easy decision to make. In a sense, I've committed suicide five times each day for the past year, which would explain why I'm not worried right now."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Do you have to anything? You don't need owe me anything, nor should you feel obligated to help."

"Naruto, I'm not leaving you to your own devices, and that's final," she said stubbornly.

"If you feel so inclined to help, then I don't really see that many options. If you're not going to leave me alone, and I probably won't change my mind, then I guess that the only option that you're left with is not to leave me alone, which in of itself brings forth a new problem, given that we're both supposed to fill in our roles in society, but then again, my job can be relegated to someone else and considering the circumstances, I'm not currently the best suited candidate to the title…"

"You're not resisting at all..?" Hinata asked whilst narrowing her eyebrows.

"No, why would I?"

"People normally…you know, hesitate when their plans are being scrapped and replaced."

"I'm like a…a tree swaying in the wind," he said, which prompted a very abrupt and short-lived giggle from Hinata, who quickly regained her composure. "Just because the wind suddenly blows another direction doesn't mean I won't sway with it, nor does it mean I'll be knocked over by it."

"That was really out of place."

"Are you suggesting that you have any idea what is appropriate in this current situation then?"

Hinata was silent a second or two, before responding; "No, and to be honest, I'd prefer to get out of this room as soon as possible."

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"I don't know yet…but for now, you're coming with me," she said, stepping forward and grapping his arm, after which she practically dragged him out of the room, or at least she tried at first only to find that the 'dragging' was completely pointless as Naruto just followed her unquestionably.

They went out of the apartment, leaving the mess as it was. They proceeded to go onto the rooftops, only to meet the last moments of the sun's descent down the horizon.

"You've grown," Naruto said to Hinata, who was standing next to him, her face enveloped by the remaining light of the sun, as it was then swallowed by the earth.

"And you've changed," she said, turning to face him.

Their eyes met for a short while, though Naruto quickly averted his towards the place where the sun had just disappeared beyond the horizon.

"I wouldn't call it change…it's more of a discovery than anything else."


End file.
